HSV-1?

[whatsthis]

I have had no STD's in the past and have had only one partner. I am 28 years old with no real acne history. An occasional zit here and there but thats all. A little over a year ago I got what I thought was a small zit about 1/4 of an inch under my nose. Not touching any membranes of the lip or nose. It didn't burn, it didn't itch it was just a zit I thought. So I popped it (which I know is a no no) It went away I thought. Now it "re-appears" and has a few little friends with it. I pop them, white pus comes out. They heal up however it never really goes away. Feels like there is still something under the skin. Every now and then they appear to be small raised bumps that need popped again so I do. There is no pain with them and the surrounding skin wouldn't be slightly red had I of not messed with them. The problem is it just doesn't seem to really go away and it has grown from one lil bump to about 5 small bumps.
I did a lot of research on the internet concerning oral/facial herpes and am trying to determine if this is what I have but from all I read the only symtoms that are really similar is that it is in the same place and "might" be considered recurrent. So I guess the question would be is:
Fact: My tiny bumps are filled with pus and not clear liquid.
Q: Does herpes HAVE to have clear liquid or can it just be pus?
Fact: They do seem to get irritated by my cycles
Fact: There is no tingling , numbess or itching before they look raised or full.
Q: Do those signs need to be there for certain for it to be HSV1?
Fact: I've never had a cold sore of any sorts on the lips or nose. Is it sometimes HSV1 without those symptoms?
Q: is HSV1 sometimes just in that one spot?
Q: Does the skin need to be bright red like I see in pictures?
When I read about recurrent I'm a little confused. Mine are "recurrent" in that it seems to flair up in the one spot.
About 2 weeks ago they flaired up, i popped them and right now I can run my finger over the skin and feel a hardness under the skin where the bumps have been in the past and where they are now. Almost like the skin is just waiting to raise the pus above the skin. I can still see slightly raised bumps.
I did do something really stupid and I can't remember the time frame but it may have been about the time it started and may be totally unrelated but I did one time use nair on my upper lip to remove some fine hair. The thought crossed my mind that maybe it was an ingrown hair but I have had one of those before when I used nair to wear a bikini and it really hurt. This on my face does not. Should maybe what is lying under my skin be professionially drained or something? blockage? Can what is under the skin be drained and tested?

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

I wasn't more specific for 2 reasons:

First, most of your questions can't be answered with precision (herpes can have a bliter first, pus later, etc,)

Second, nothing I could say on line would make it unneccessary for you to see a doctor.  One can't make a definitive diagnosis without seeing what's going on, certainly not in your case.

Dr. Rockoff

[whatsthis]

I was hoping you could have answered the more specific questions as in symptoms etc. rather than basically referral to a dermatoligist. I tried to be as specific as I could and I noticed with a lot of other questions posted in this forum you were much more specific. I forgot to mention that I was female and when I stated "partner" I was referring to my husband.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Rather than worry about these bumps, you should leave them alone and show them to a doctor.  The doctor can porbably tell at a glance whether these are blocked follicles or the blisters of herpes.  (I'd bet on the former.)  A culture for bacteria or viruses may also help.

Even if it is herpes (and I doubt it), all that would mean is that you get "cold sores" from time to time under your nose instead of at the border of your lip.  No big deal, millions have it, and treatment is available.

So check it out and get a specific diagnosis, so you can move on.

Take care.

Dr. Rockoff